You are here

Pages

Lets face it: we've all had one of those moments when watching a show, a movie or perhaps one of your kids and that one little tear of emotion comes out forcing you to say something like "Damnit, that allergy thing is acting up again." to regain a little of your manliness. Don't kid yourself, you've been there. And if you really haven't, please see a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

It has happened to me one more than one occasion, but this week it came up once more as I was watching Forrest Gump with this girl. She had never seen it and it's been so long since I've seen it that I can't really remember what happens in it (except "Something bit me in the butt-ocks!" You just don't forget that). Anyway, at the very end of the movie, when the feather is floating away, I just couldn't help myself and a little tear came out. I was horrified at first and desperately thinking of a way to explain this one("Allergy? No, indoors. Mosquito bite? No, to wimpy. Gnarly fighting wound acting up again? No, might need to show non-existent scar."), but turns out I didn't need to. This girl apparently likes men who can be a little emotional at times and I think it really helped me out.*

Another one I remember is the Battlestar Galactica episode Flight of the Phoenix. When they unveil the Blackbird at the end and you see that they've named it Laura, I just couldn't stop it. Something about how Mary McDonnell handles that scene is just beautiful.

So, what are your stories of manly tears?

[size=6]*Why, yes, I did get lucky that night. Thank you for asking.[/size]

When I get sad, I just stop being sad and be awesome instead. True Story

Field of Dreams - When Kevin Costner's character asks his dad if he wants to play a game of catch.

Same, and like many other the end of Saving Private Ryan. I would add the beginning of Saving Private Ryan as well. The whole storming of the beach is a pretty sad scene. The death of Buster in Gettysburg is a pretty sad moment as well especially since Jeff Daniels does a great job throughout the movie.There are also many parts of Band of Brothers that get me. Off the top of my head, towards the end when they find the concentration camp. Terrible. I guess I'm more susceptible to war horrors and sports moments as opposed to sappy love stuff.

For me it's always heroic deaths and self sacrifice for the greater good. I find books tend to get me much more than television and movies, but yeah, I can't go past a good heroic death.

I wish more television had permanent death for key characters.

I hope this means that you have watched Babylon 5. JMS (the creator of Babylon 5) really loves putting this into all his stuff.

Heck he wrote the best heroic death/self sacrifice in a Children live-action TV series (as opposed to the ones that were animated, usually in a movie format, like Transformers) that I've seen that has stayed with me for 20 years. Really wish that series would have lasted another season in order to show the full impact of that sacrifice.

Chumpy_McChump wrote:

"When you can, you hit that like the fist of an angry god. It's not even for you anymore; you do it for us."

Heck he wrote the best heroic death/self sacrifice in a Children live-action TV series (as opposed to the ones that were animated, usually in a movie format, like Transformers) that I've seen that has stayed with me for 20 years.

There's a scene in Deadwood that I consider, to this day, to be the finest moment in television.

It's mid-second season, the Reverend Smith's brain tumor is in the midst of taking a turn for the worst. Bullock's mad about everything, Star's trying to calm him down, and up comes the Reverend, speaking to them both, asking them if they are truly his friends, or demons - because, he reasons, demons are built to take a pleasing shape, and what more pleasing shape to him would be the ones he considers friends?

Seth, with all his rage and issues, becomes the human being he's been trying to be since moving to Deadwood, and with Sol manages to convince the Reverend that they are, indeed, his friends, and not demons out to lead him astray. The episode ends simply with the two of them escorting the Reverend back to his home.

I lose it every time I watch that scene.

Also, Fringe's Walter Bishop. There are a lot of moments that get me, with just the inherent tragedy of this character literally imprisoned in his own mind, but one in particular hits home - at the start of the second season, Olivia is back, once thought dead. Walter, always fighting for a coherent thought, just simply manages to say "When I saw you lying there... I don't know what I would have done."

Heck he wrote the best heroic death/self sacrifice in a Children live-action TV series (as opposed to the ones that were animated, usually in a movie format, like Transformers) that I've seen that has stayed with me for 20 years.

Wait, which one was this? The series, specifically.

The series was named Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Cheezy? I know. Now most of this information can be found from the wiki entry, but I like writing it out as it forces me to remember.

Typical Terminator-like setup where in the future, machines have mostly taken over the world and small groups of human rebels oppose them. Some differences include: It's the merger of a human mind with an AI that leads to the machine uprising. The machines don't set out to kill humans, they "digitize" them to have their memories and knowledge added to the AI collective and some humans are left to live and grow under machine control. This last bit leads to the use of "Dread machine Youth", usually young humans that are loyal to the machines, trained to infiltrate the various rebel groups then betray them.

Oh and last but not least, some of the rebels have "Power Suits", wearable exoskeletal weapon platforms. These where made by the title character's dead father, hence the name.

So the rebels are organized like a military unit, with ranks, once again the source of the title character's name. This Captain Jonathan Power is one of the best leaders the rebels have, and he commands a small fast strike squad that operates out of a Power Base, making use of a warpgate using Jumpship that constantly thwarts the Machines efforts to track them down.

Into this all male squad comes a new rookie member assigned to them by rebel command, one Corporal Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase, meant to make better use of the Jumpship. Pilot comes in with a bit of a background: she was once a Dread Youth Leader but decided to turn and join the rebels after witnessing a daring rescue of human prisoners by Captain Power himself.

Naturally the rest of the squad are less than impressed by this revelation, having had their own fair share of run-ins with the Dread Youth. So she is the lowest ranking, youngest, least trusted of the bunch. Not to mention her shyness around her heroic icon and now direct commanding officer. Captain Power himself is at first somewhat made awkward by all this, and works on letting her see his human side. This kind of backfires as Power is highly driven to save humans at all costs, which gets him into constant trouble not to mention paint a huge target on him. Pilot gets around by being brash & outspoken, a good soldier and works her way into the good books of the squad.

Two events highlight Pliot's growth: one when she talks the rest into letting her sneak into a Dread Youth camp to retrieve an antidote and another where she protects an injured Captain from human survivors who recognize her from her past. Her loyalty elevates her to be an accepted member of the squad.

Near the end of the series, after destroying an orbital platform that was to be used by the Machines, Pilot finds the nerve to bring up to Power a conversation she has been meaning to have with him. However alerts on the warpgate system cause the squad to be deployed, interrupting their talk, while Pilot is left to defend Base. The situation escalates when the Machines use data gathered to finally break through the warpgates, allowing them to arrive at the Base itself and deactivating the warpgate system; the alerts were decoys, leaving the Jumpship stranded.

Forced to fly direct, Power is left helpless listening to the running battle back at Base as Pilot desperately defends against the Machine onslaught. He tells her to hang on, that they will be there soon and that they can finish that conversation, that they have so much to talk about. Pilot takes a direct hit, injuring her legs, her suit barely able to function and at minimal power. She drags herself into the control room, telling the rest that the only option left is the base power supply, "It's too late! I'm all broken up inside... stay clear. I'm sorry we never got to finish our talk."

The door is forced open and the Machine general orders her to surrender.
Pulling herself upright against the control panel, Pilot looks the towering machine in the eye and says "Go to hell" then hits the self-destruct button for the power base.

Chumpy_McChump wrote:

"When you can, you hit that like the fist of an angry god. It's not even for you anymore; you do it for us."

I saw Where The Wild Things Are over the weekend. Man, I don't remember the book being so dark and depressing, but I was on the verge of bawling for most of it. I could kind of feel the buildup right behind my eyes. So sad.

Stengah wrote:

I hereby declare that a group of grown-ass adults wearing rompers shall be referred to henceforth as "Romphirrim"

This, the best part of the best animated movie of all time, makes me break down every damn time.

I was watching that with my younger sister one Christmas and my older sister came downstairs to tell us dinner was ready right when he starts attacking the army. She'd never even heard of it before and didn't like any animated stuff not disney. She was balling when he said that. Her exact quote was "I hate it when they pick on bigger people just for being bigger!"

*I've repeated myself twice in this thread now. I'm such a sissyboy.

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
-William Shakespeare

As Gandhi said, "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world without Nazis."
-Chairman_Mao

The final episodes of Space: Above and Beyond fall into this category as well. I hadn't watched them when they originally aired, so I was in a bit of a shock when I re-watched the series earlier this year.

I think what triggers me is, in general, either a person losing the core support in their life (e.g., Up or the start of Full Metal Alchemist), a character sacrificing themselves for the others (sealing the door, giving up the last of the air, etc.), or a character stuck with a slow doom (e.g., ship is out of fuel and about to fall into a star, but they still have radio contact to say their goodbyes). That and anything truly horrible happening to children, as I immediately picture my nieces, nephews and friends' kids in that position.

One I don't think has been mentioned and which _totally_ caught me off guard was Bolt.

My son rented that last weekend and ...

Spoiler:

near the end where Bolt and Penny are caught in the fire, and instead of escaping through the vent he just curls up under her arm after she has collapsed

Dammit, I'm getting misty thinking about it.

Wasn't even thinking I'd like the movie, much less give a darn about the fate of the characters.

Yeah, that one was surprisingly good.

Fletcher wrote:

Wear the Filthy Skimmer badge with honor. For we have all, at one time or another, been filthy skimmers. And it is our brotherly duty to remind each other, that although the path of the skimmer is quick, it is also treacherous.

The above comments about Wall-E are well-seen. I actually cried openly (big, girly tears) at the end sequence with the robots and humans doing stuff together. That awesome imagery of technology and humanity meshing was just too much for me.

Just found a new one... In Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2, there's an episode where they follow a character for a few minutes, like a short. One of them is the Tale of Iroh. When he ends his day beneath a tree in Ba Sing Se, lighting incense for his lost son, and sings the "Brave Soldier Boy" song.

Just found a new one... In Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2, there's an episode where they follow a character for a few minutes, like a short. One of them is the Tale of Iroh. When he ends his day beneath a tree in Ba Sing Se, lighting incense for his lost son, and sings the "Brave Soldier Boy" song.

Iroh also happens to be my favorite character.

It's even worse after you find out that the episode was dedicated to Mako, the original voice of Iroh, since he died partway through season 2.

Just found a new one... In Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2, there's an episode where they follow a character for a few minutes, like a short. One of them is the Tale of Iroh. When he ends his day beneath a tree in Ba Sing Se, lighting incense for his lost son, and sings the "Brave Soldier Boy" song.

Iroh also happens to be my favorite character.

It's even worse after you find out that the episode was dedicated to Mako, the original voice of Iroh, since he died partway through season 2.

Just found a new one... In Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2, there's an episode where they follow a character for a few minutes, like a short. One of them is the Tale of Iroh. When he ends his day beneath a tree in Ba Sing Se, lighting incense for his lost son, and sings the "Brave Soldier Boy" song.

Iroh also happens to be my favorite character.

It's even worse after you find out that the episode was dedicated to Mako, the original voice of Iroh, since he died partway through season 2.

Yeah, I got misty at that one too. And by time I saw it I knew Mako had passed. So yeah, that hurt.

Stengah wrote:

I hereby declare that a group of grown-ass adults wearing rompers shall be referred to henceforth as "Romphirrim"